Strategic Business Development

Not all business development is of equal impact. In fact a lot of the activities of many professionals are very opportunistic and tactical in nature. This is especially true with many seller-doers.

Caught between the pressures of client work and an urgent need for new business they cast about for something quick and easy that will produce short term results. Of course this is no real strategy at all.

Strategic business development is the alignment of business development processes and procedures with your firm’s strategic business goals. The role of strategic business development is to acquire ideal clients for your highest priority services using brand promises that you can deliver upon.

Deciding which targets to pursue and strategies to employ to develop new business is actually a high stakes decision. A good strategy, well implemented, can drive high levels of growth and profitability. A faulty strategy can stymie growth and frustrate valuable talent.

Yet many firms falter at this critical step. They rely on habit, anecdotes and fads — or worse still, “this is how we have always done it.”

With the caveat that there isn’t a cookie-cutter that fits every situation, a successful business development plan will create sustained visibility, deliver measurable value to the target, and facilitate the opportunity for a face-to-face pitch. While the specifics for how to execute at each phase will vary, this graphic is offered as an initial way to think about the path your efforts follow.